Exploring and educating ourselves on Adobe XD this semester has been a fun learning experience. I’ve always been interested in editing videos and designing creative assets. This was a step further into my design experience. My group was given the opportunity to create a prototype desktop application to improve one of our companies. From wireframing to connecting CTA’s to different boards, I really enjoyed the process.
Adobe XD is a both a UI and UX design software platform used for designing and creating web and mobile applications. It has the ability to do a lot and encompasses many features. Here are just some of them:
Artboards & Guides
Artboards are elements within the platform which represent each of the screens that you are designing for your projects. When creating a new project/document, you will usually choose a certain artboard size to begin. Most industry standard sizes are available for your choosing. Guides are various lines that you can place on your artboards that can help you plan out your designs. Creating consistency in your different screens is important when creating an application or website. You’ll be able to put the guidelines at the same spot on each screen so you can keep the same measurements throughout your project.
3D Transformations
A new plane can give you the ability to transfer and rotate objects in the “space”. You can give your design that depth for the 3D effect. With new trends in AR and VR, this is a great option to display your prototypes!
Components, Elements & States
You are able to create an endless amount of buttons for your CTA’s. Usually, you will want to repeat these button designs within multiple projects. The ability to design it once and then push it through states in other places is key. You are able to create multiple states for just one component as well. There is also a repeat grid tool where you can repeat a certain amount of elements if you want them to appear multiple times in the project.
Designing Together
At the kickoff of a project, when you want more than one person to be working on designing the wireframing for an application or website, multiple users can work together to get the job done faster. Sharing designs and adding feedback within your team is also an efficient process. Users will be able to add comments write on the platform next to the design.
Adobe Integration and Importing
All Creative Cloud apps integrate with XD so you can have a seamless experience between the services. Edit images in Photoshop, import graphics from Illustrator, share libraries with your team from inside XD, and more — this is your creative advantage.
Other UX Design Platforms Options
In the future, I want to explore Sketch and learn the ins and outs of it as I know employees in my current company use it. I think it is important to know how to use multiple softwares and platforms in your industry. For example, I spend a lot of my time video editing and therefore, I know how to navigate many video editing softwares (such as Final Cut Pro X, Adobe Premiere Pro and Rush, iMovie, etc).
Resources
Adobe XD Essential Training Design. LinkedIn Learning. https://www.linkedin.com/learning/adobe-xd-essential-training-design-2020-q1/take-your-design-to-the-next-level?u=2206009
Adobe XD Features https://www.adobe.com/products/xd/features.html
Adobe XD Product Page https://www.adobe.com/products/xd.html
How to Add and Edit Artboards. Help Adobe. https://helpx.adobe.com/nl/xd/how-to/add-and-edit-artboards.html
How to Use Guides and Grids in Adobe XD. Domestika. https://www.domestika.org/en/blog/4368-how-to-use-guides-and-grids-in-adobe-xd
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